Thread: Put a Shorcut to All Applications on your Desktop

No Start Orb on Win 8 CP.

OK, then put a shortcut to all applications on your Desktop

Right Click the Desktop and choose New Shortcut,

paste the following:

%windir%\explorer.exe shell:::{4234d49b-0245-4df3-b780-3893943456e1}

on the next screen name it something like All Apps

then Finish.

You might want to change the view to list or details and alphabetical but it gives you an easy way to find your apps without the Start Orb.

You can also Pin this shortcut to the Taskbar if you prefer.

Thank you Ted that is a great tip and I have utilised it with great success

Now if I could figure out how to keep the view to details and alphabetical after I close and reopen this would work even better. Perhaps someone a little smarter than me could add to my suggestion because I haven't hit on a solution yet.

Originally Posted by Ted Myers

No Start Orb on Win 8 CP.

OK, then put a shortcut to all applications on your Desktop

Right Click the Desktop and choose New Shortcut,

paste the following:

%windir%\explorer.exe shell:::{4234d49b-0245-4df3-b780-3893943456e1}

on the next screen name it something like All Apps

then Finish.

You might want to change the view to list or details and alphabetical but it gives you an easy way to find your apps without the Start Orb.

You can also Pin this shortcut to the Taskbar if you prefer.

Thanks Ted;
But isn't that the same thing basically that you get when you right click the MetroUI and just choose all apps?
If you consider the MetroUI as something that exists as your start button (you don't need to click anything in advance).
And the Windows Logo key as your method of getting back and forth between metro and desktop, I would thing there might be almost enough ability to customize both to support all the clickable shortcuts most would ever want.
My problem is my fear that I am going to end up with a desktop that looks like the ones I used to criticize everyone for having that was too clutter and practically impossible to find stuff on. So I suspect we are going to hopefully see some innovative and imaginative desktop customization over the coming weeks and months just to make everything look nice and useable.

very much so, Trouble. Many ways to skin the cat I guess. I asked the same question in the original article, and shawns reply was just that
(Metro Apps - Open from Desktop in Windows 8 - Windows 8 Forums).
But its fun to experiment.
I think I have said, in another post, that I have now narrowed down to options. One is a shortcut to C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs. The advantage of this is that you can create folders and put your individual Apps inside them. Needs a little mod, for some of the left over apps in the user Start menu. If you want to use a third party proggy, then "Vista start menu" is great -You can create folders, as I said above, and Vista start menu picks them up.
Ted. I am sure you are totally aware that you can view as details etc, and sort, in the suggestion in your post, but I have never found a way to keep them in that order. What I have found, after doing this, is that the Metro menu also picks up the constructed folders. So! There we are back to a useable Metro.

I only have 7 or 8 icons on my desktop even with this. As stated above, experimenting at this time. Trying to figure out how to work this OS. I do not have much time to play right now. Only had 3 or 4 hours so far and part of that has been asnwering questions here and in the Lounge. (Been working a lot). Hope to get more time, I'll see.